By Louise Charbonneau S.C.O.
The year 1847 is blessed for Mother Élisabeth Bruyère and her fledgling congregation, which would become the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa. (The Sisters of Charity of Ottawa began the celebrations of their 175th anniversary of foundation on February 20, 2020.) They joined the citizens of Bytown to combat the typhus epidemic in 1847, a year of compassion in action in Bytown.
In 1847, Ireland is battling a contagious disease following the great famine. The Grey Nuns of Montreal sound the alarm in February. Thousands of Irish immigrants seek exile for their survival. Ships sail from Liverpool, Dublin, Cork and Limerick with passengers weakened by famine and illness. Journeys last as long as twelve weeks. Hundreds of passengers are buried at sea. These floating mausoleums begin to reach the Grosse Isle quarantine station in May 1847.
Bytown prepares to receive its first immigrants. Mr. Burke, Deputy for Immigrants, confides to Father Adrien Telmon OMI his difficulty in finding a place to build a hospital. Mother Bruyère courageously accepts to care for the sick. The Immigration Bureau entrusts the plague-stricken to the Sisters for 12 shillings ($2.40 per patient per week); medications, wine, fruit and burial expenses are extra.
The construction of the hospital does not progress fast enough. At her own expense, Mother Bruyère prepares Carney House, located on her property at the corner of Water (now Bruyère) and Sussex streets. Mr. Burke, assisted by Father Telmon, follows Mother Bruyère’s example and begins construction of the hospital for immigrants.
Approximately three thousand immigrants arrive via the Rideau Canal during the stifling hot summer of 1847. The most seriously ill are cared for by the Sisters, who relinquish their straw mattresses, beds and blankets. The epidemic takes on a terrifying form. So great is the fear of contagion that the Sisters have difficulty finding staff to assist them. Charitable young men from the lumber camps are paid by the Sisters to assist with the night watch. The Sisters become overwhelmed by work and fatigue as they ensure the well-being of those entrusted to their care. Mother Bruyère fears the sisters will not be able to hold out and begs the Grey Nuns of Montreal to pray for them as they endeavour to accept God’s will. Seventeen members of the religious community contract the virus but not one succumbs. The Sisters use their own financial resources to support the services provided to their patients when promised funds are not forthcoming. A deceptive financial report presented to the Board of Health resulted in denied reimbursement of debts incurred for providing services to the Irish immigrants. Mother Bruyère successfully refutes the deceptive report. The Sisters receive their just due.
The Admission Register of the General Hospital of Bytown, one of the most reliable documents available after the typhus epidemic, reveals that between June 5, 1847 and May 31, 1848 619 patients were admitted, of which one 167 succumbed to the illness. Ultimately, Providence provided, for both the Irish immigrants entrusted to the Sisters’ care and for the Sisters who never hesitated to respond to the epidemic with compassion in action!
In closing, let us draw a comparison: 2020 is also a year of compassion in action across the world and in Canada’s capital as citizens come together to fight the COVID-19 epidemic with creativity, generosity and solidarity!
Sister Louise Charbonneau is with the Sisters of Charity (Grey Nuns) of Ottawa. This text was inspired by the book written by Sister Paul-Émile, S.C.O. entitled Mother Élisabeth Bruyère – Her Life and Her Work, Volume 1, The Grey Nuns of the Cross – General Thrust 1845-1876, published in 1945 by the S.C.O. and translated by Sister Gabrielle Jean, S.C.O. in 1989.